U.s. Expects No Influence On Coke, Pot

WASHINGTON — Drug enforcement officials said Friday they don't expect this week's volcano eruption either to help or hinder the Colombian marijuana and cocaine trade.

The prime sites for marijuana cultivation and export are a few hundred miles northeast of the volcano, while most cocaine processing plants are well to the southeast.

Colombian police and soldiers undoubtedly will be preoccupied with rescue missions for the next week or so, but officials in Washington expect only a brief interruption in drug enforcement activities.

''The eradication campaign against marijuana has been completed for the most part,'' said a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman. ''And the eradication of cocaine has been strictly manual. It's mostly a holding action now until they identify an environmentally safe herbicide.''

Marijuana cultivation has been concentrated closer to the northeast because of its proximity to the coastline for quicker transport, the official said.

Cocaine crops and refineries tend to be in the jungles of southeast Colombia because of the region's remoteness and proximity to the main source of coca in Bolivia and Peru.

The official said the Colombian police force of about 50,000 officers may be preoccupied for a week or so but after that it will be back to business.

Despite intense enforcement in recent months, Colombia remains the biggest supplier of marijuana and cocaine for the illegal American market.

Cocaine prices, which dropped to a low of $16,000 per kilogram in Florida during a glut of supplies a year ago, have risen over the past year to about $28,000 to $36,000 per kilogram.